The present invention relates to flushing of liquid cooling systems, and more particularly to a system and apparatus for quickly evacuating, cleaning and refilling a liquid cooling system such as an engine cooling system.
It is well known that over time, contaminants such as rust, scale, particulates and sludge build up in liquid cooling systems such as engine cooling systems. These contaminants get baked onto cooling system components, reducing the efficiency and lifetime of cooling system components. Periodically, not only does the liquid coolant need replacement, but also the coolant system itself should be flushed to remove some of the contamination deposited throughout the cooling system.
Unfortunately, most commercially available coolant flushing systems fail to provide a cleaning action inside the chambers, hoses and other cooling system components to adequately remove interior contamination. Simply running a coolant or cleaning fluid through the system fails to remove these baked on contaminants from the system. Even increasing the flow rate through the system has limited success because there is a limitation on the overall pressure that can safely be applied to the cooling system without damaging it. Even adding entrained gas bubbles to the flushing liquid has been proposed, but that simply does not create a cleansing action inside the cooling system that effectively removes the; contamination. Such flushing systems also fail to provide a convenient way of removing, : filtering, recycling and replenishing coolant for the cooling system, especially in a manner that minimizes coolant waste and hazardous spills.
There is a need for an apparatus and method that creates a superior cleansing action inside a liquid cooling system for removing contamination therein, and in a way that conveniently removes filters, recycles and replenishes coolant from the cooling system.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems by providing an apparatus and method which utilizes a relatively high proportion of air in the flushing liquid, together with a vacuum applied to the outlet of the cooling system, to create a high speed hurricane-like effect for effectively removing contamination within the cooling system.
The apparatus for flushing contaminants from a liquid coolant circulation system includes an injection hose connectable to an injection point of the coolant circulation system, an evacuation hose connectable to an extraction point of the coolant circulation system, a liquid supply for supplying liquid under pressure to the injection hose and the injection point, a vacuum motor connected to the evacuation hose for applying a vacuum to the evacuation hose and the extraction point, a gas inlet for receiving compressed gas and for mixing the compressed gas with the liquid supplied by the liquid supply to form a liquid and gas mixture. The liquid and gas mixture enters the coolant circulation system at the injection point, travels through the coolant circulation system at a high rate of speed, and is extracted from the coolant circulation system at the extraction point by the evacuation hose.
In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for flushing contaminants from an internal combustion engine cooling system, which includes a cooling radiator and a heating radiator both connected to an engine block with liquid coolant lines comprises an injection hose terminating in an injector that is connectable to the engine block to define an injection point into the engine cooling system, an evacuation hose terminating in a connector assembly that is connectable to one of cooling radiator and the heating radiator to define a first extraction point from the engine cooling system, a liquid supply for supplying liquid under pressure to the injection hose and the injection point, a vacuum motor connected to the evacuation hose for applying a vacuum to the evacuation hose and the first extraction point, a gas inlet for receiving compressed gas and for mixing the compressed gas with the liquid supplied by the liquid supply to form a liquid and gas mixture. The liquid and gas mixture enters the engine cooling system at the injection point, travels through the engine block and heating radiator and cooling radiator at a high rate of speed, and is extracted from the engine cooling system at the extraction point by the evacuation hose.
In one additional aspect of the present invention, the method of the present invention for flushing contaminants from an internal combustion engine cooling system, which includes a cooling radiator and a heating radiator both connected to an engine block with liquid coolant lines and points of injection and extraction, comprises the steps of mixing a liquid with a gas to create a liquid/gas mixture, injecting the liquid/gas mixture into an injection point of the engine cooling system under pressure and applying a vacuum to an extraction point of the engine cooling system to evacuate the liquid/gas mixture through the extraction point.